The Glory of God Alone

How very patient you have been
with me these last four weeks, indulging me in this study, something
I don’t normally do, preaching through a topic. I first introduced
this study, as you know, the Solas of the Reformation, a month
ago. And as I told you then, I was
hoping in doing so to capture some of the excitement generated
by our Reformation tour in Europe. And from the feedback received,
really weakly thus far, I trust that not only did we capture
some of the excitement of that great event known as the Protestant
Reformation, But we have spread that enthusiasm throughout our
church and beyond. We come this morning to the last
of these solas of the Reformation, those five superlative Latin
phrases that articulate the spirit and the principles of the Reformation. Sola Scriptura, Scripture alone,
the one source of divine revelation. Solus Christus, Christ alone,
the one source of redemption and forgiveness for our sin.
Sola gratia, grace alone, the one means of spiritual restoration. Sola fide, the one means of possessing
Christ’s righteousness, that we are justified before a holy
God. And we come today to soli deo
gloria, God’s glory alone, the one great aim of every child
of God. and the truth, that to God all
things redound. As I pointed out throughout our
review of these statements, these were not tenets declared and
recited during the Reformation. Rather, we see these things by
looking back on the events and the episodes of the Reformation,
But not only are these principles seen in the lives, the passions,
the efforts, the writings of the Reformers, ultimately, all
of them have their vigorous roots in Scripture itself. The first
thing that the Reformers observed was a need to recognize the exclusivity
of Scripture. The Roman Catholic Church had
adopted numerous sources of so-called authority, tradition, church
councils, official interpretations of biblical passages, pronouncements
and rulings by popes. All of that was set against the
authority of Scripture. And at best, the Bible was an
also ram in the race of what was authority. It wasn’t the
sole source of authority, the only sufficient, certain, and
infallible rule of all saving faith and obedience, as the Confessions
declare Scripture to be. But as soon as would-be Reformers
discovered the pure Word of God, they rescued it from captivity
to the Latin Vulgate. And the principle of sola scriptura,
scripture alone, was born. But with the discovery of sola
scriptura, the Reformation had begun. And it would be one of
the greatest and most important events in history. Many errors
and heretical ideas had crowded out the truth of the gospel so
that the Reformation was crucial, if not inevitable. And those
who began to discover and proclaim these truths, until now, had
been hidden. They were willing to give their
lives for the mere articulation of these truths. And sola scriptura
soon opened the door to numerous other solas, solus Christus,
Christ alone, sola gratia, sola fide. Sola scriptura opened the
door to solus Christus, Christ alone, in that Jesus Christ as
God had provided everything for salvation. There’s no need to
add to Christ’s finished work on the cross. Jesus Himself declared
that He and He alone was the way, the truth, and the life,
and that no one comes to the Father but through Him. Jesus
Christ is the one source of redemption and the forgiveness of sin. As the Reformers began to consider
the teaching of Scripture regarding the Savior and salvation, it
quickly became clear that salvation was by grace alone. Up to the
Reformation, the means of salvation had come to be understood as
a lifelong process of doing good works, a system of merit and
reward. In plain terms, salvation could
be earned. Grace is God’s provision as the
only means of spiritual restoration. And the reformers understood
that God’s grace was more than just undeserved favor. This grace
also included a merciful removal out from under God’s awful wrath. Although we deserved God’s wrath,
he instead bestows his riches and favor upon us. Closely connected
to Sola Gratia, was the fourth sola, sola fide, which Luther
said was the most important sola of all, and that is because this
sola rested on the liberating truth of justification by faith. Faith alone in Christ alone for
salvation. The Catholic Church, as I’ve
said, thought nothing of adding works to faith, for salvation. Salvation, again, was not only
possible with human effort, good works, they referred to it as
patching, adding to what they believed was lacking in Christ’s
work. The reformers rejected this idea
of patching altogether. They saw that scripture taught
salvation by faith alone, not works, not even faith plus works. They preached faith alone in
Christ alone. Well, that brings us to the last of
the solas in our study. Soli Deo Gloria, the glory of
God alone. And our natural inclination here
would be to think of this sola with regard to the chief end
of man. that we are to seek to glorify
God as our primary goal in life. And that’s true, but the rest
of the solas are all oriented around salvation. And so it should
be with regard to soli deo gloria, to the glory of God, not man. When we speak of this particular
principle of the Reformation, we must first consider why the
Reformers would have identified the opposite, the glory of man,
as a concern. You see, as we have seen again
and again throughout our study, the Roman Catholic Church was
presenting a path to salvation that was dependent upon man’s
work, the keeping of rules, attending mass, taking communion, praying
over beads, going to confession, and all of the rest. And they
did this because based on their anthropology, their doctrine
of man, they believed that man had the innate capacity to do
good, even to earn one’s salvation. And that ability, Together with
various measures of success in such a pursuit, it only fed human
pride. Man was glorified just in his
ability to do good. And not only could they earn
their salvation, they were actively engaged in attempting to do so. This system was no different
than the Jewish Pharisees’ system before them, salvation by law-keeping. But the idea of earning one’s
salvation is not an idea limited to Catholics and Jews. The idea
of contributing to our salvation has been called the darling religion
of humanity. How can I merit or earn or contribute
to or participate in or repay my salvation? All of that leads
to the glory of man. Now we’ve seen in weeks past
that the reformers had a completely different understanding of man’s
state before God. They understood the Bible to
teach that man was spiritually dead. And that before a man could
do a single thing that would be pleasing in God’s sight, he
or she must first be brought to life, regenerated. That secret action of the Holy
Spirit by which a dead sinner is brought to life spiritually
and enabled to a life of faith which is to glorify God. The doctrine of regeneration
is presented in many places in the New Testament. We certainly
see Christ’s call for such in his interactions with sneaky
Mr. Nicodemus, remember? You must
be born again, Jesus told the nervous Pharisee. We see regeneration
in numerous places in Paul’s epistles. We saw it last week
as we considered the spiritual status of unbelievers there in
Ephesians 2. You were dead in your trespasses
and sins. You were spiritually dead, Paul
says. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve as our garden representatives,
we were spiritually dead, but God. But God, Paul says in the ensuing
verses of that chapter, but God made us alive. He brought us
to life. He regenerated us. Paul says
the same thing in Titus chapter three. Just listen. Titus three,
verse four, but when the kindness of God, our savior, and his love
for mankind appeared, he saved us. Not on the basis of deeds,
which we have done in righteousness, the darling religion of humanity,
but according to his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and
renewing by the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Peter speaks of the
doctrine of regeneration in 1 Peter 1.3, Peter says, blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his
great mercy has caused us to be born again. Listen to Charles
Spurgeon on this subject. I usually don’t quote more than
a couple of lines, but listen to this. First, he speaks of
the desperate need of regeneration. Evangelical repentance, he says,
can never exist in an unrenewed soul. We are as helpless to cooperate
in our regeneration as we are to cooperate in the work of Calvary.
Though the new birth is absolutely necessary, it is absolutely impossible
to thee unless God the Spirit shall do it. And then he explains
this mysterious process. The Spirit of God, he says, must
new make you. ye must be born again. The same
spirit, the same power which raised Christ Jesus from the
dead must be exerted in raising us from the dead. And because
God initiates the work of salvation by the Holy Spirit’s work of
regeneration, to God alone belongs the glory. As God so clearly
declared it with regard to idols, Isaiah 42, 8, I will not give
my glory to another. Did you hear that? I will not
give my glory to another. God will not share his glory
with anyone. not even mankind in the course
of his salvation. Salvation is God’s promise. It
is accomplished according to God’s plan of redemption. It
is secured by God’s Son. It is applied by the Holy Spirit.
Why should anyone be allowed to share in God’s glory? The praise for our salvation
should be to God alone. So instead of feeding the glory
of man, the reformers understood that in salvation, God alone
received all the glory, soli deo gloria. And for our consideration
of this last wonderful superlative, I’d like to take us this morning
to Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11. These verses
come, as you likely already know, at the end of Paul’s wonderful
and rich doctrinal section of this letter, 11 chapters of doctrine. And in those first 11 chapters,
he has set forth God’s great plan of redemption, God’s unfolding
plan of salvation. that it’s all by God’s grace,
that we as sinners contribute nothing. If you would, Romans,
let’s scroll down to verse 33. Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are
his judgments and unfathomable his ways. For who has known the
mind of the Lord, or who became his counselor? Or who has first
given to him that it might be paid back to him again? For from
him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the
glory forever. Amen. Please allow me to give
you some context on this passage. This will be a review for some
of you. The Book of Romans has a very convenient little outline. It almost sounds embellished,
especially since it almost naturally is alliterated. All of the major
points of the simple outline start with the letter S. Isn’t
something I like to do anymore? I was liberated from that. years ago, but Romans falls out
pretty naturally. Sin, in the first three chapters,
as we reviewed a few weeks ago, chapters 1 through 3. Salvation,
which we also reviewed, chapters 4 and 5. Sin, salvation, sanctification,
chapters 6 through 8. And sovereignty, chapters 9 through
11. If you want the fifth S, we’re
not going to go there today, but it’s service, chapters 12
through 16. Sin, salvation, sanctification,
sovereignty, and service. And our focus this morning is
on the subject of sovereignty found again in chapter 9 through
11. And here in chapter 9 through
11, Paul is establishing the sovereignty of God with regard
to his mercy. He declares that God is sovereign
over the nations, and he shows that God is also sovereign over
individuals. Now, the initial dilemma that
Paul addresses in chapter nine is essentially this. Israel was
supposed to be the chosen people, and yet the great majority of
them rejected Jesus the Messiah outright. Would you please glance
at chapter nine, verse six, as Paul begins his explanation of
this difficulty. Chapter nine down to verse six.
But it is not as though the word of God has failed, for they are
not all Israel who are descended from Israel, neither are they
all God’s children, because they are Abraham’s descendants, but
through Isaac your descendants will be named. That is, not the
children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children
of the promise regarded as descendants. Paul says there, essentially,
that there is divine sovereignty woven even into his promise. God never promised that every
Jewish person ever born would be saved. But through Isaac,
your descendants will be named. There is divine sovereignty in
this. God’s sovereignty is also seen
next in Isaac’s sons. Scroll down to verse 13, Jacob
and Esau. Jacob I have loved, but Esau
I have hated. Again, there is divine sovereignty. And Paul braces himself for a
strong reaction, a challenge to fairness. which he speaks to in verses
14 through 16. What shall we say then? There
is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be. For he says to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I have mercy. And I will have compassion on
whom I have compassion. There is divine sovereignty.
God is sovereign in the distribution of his mercy. And note Paul’s
conclusion in verse 16. So then, it does not depend on
the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has
mercy. And what is Paul’s explanation
for what seems to be an inconsistency with God? Why should all the
Gentiles of all people Heathens! Why should they be saved when
the chosen people of God, Israel, largely was not? Would you look
down at verses 30 and following. What should we say then? The
Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness attained righteousness? Even
the righteousness which is by faith But Israel, pursuing a
law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it
by faith, but as though it were by works. No one has ever been
saved by keeping the law, pursuing a law of righteousness by works,
not even good Israelites. Because salvation was always
to be humbly received by faith, not works. And thus the Gentiles
reaped a glorious benefit, salvation by the righteousness of God,
because they pursued it in faith, faith alone. Now Paul enters
in to a very lengthy and detailed discussion of this in chapters
10 and 11. For our purposes this morning,
again, Paul is establishing sovereignty over nations and individuals
with regard to his mercy. And in verse 11, 32, Paul’s discussion
here draws quickly to a close. It’s very abrupt. And what is
Paul’s attitude? as he sums up this whole thing?
Is it academic? No. Stoic? No. Pensive? No. I would call it
stunned, amazed, awestruck, and humbled to the core of his being.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Paul wrote these words,
33 and following, It wouldn’t surprise me if Paul wrote these
words while on his knees as he struggled to see the page through
tears in his eyes. Because suddenly, in verse 33,
Paul erupts with a doxology. The abruptness and depth of Paul’s
declaration here presents it not as a cold, planned expression,
but it’s emotional, spontaneous. Now, a doxology in scripture
is an utterance of awe. Awe and adoration, it calls attention
to God. Its purpose is to glorify God. And because of that, a doxology
is usually a testimony of praise for the richness of some attribute
of God. Doxologies are regular features
in Paul’s writings. Romans has one at the end. Paul praises God. Paul praises
God there because he is able to establish us in Christ. In Ephesians 3, Paul glorifies
God for his ability to do far more abundantly than we ask or
think. In the opening verses of Galatians,
Paul issues a doxology because in Christ God has willed our
rescue from sin. There were many more of these
purposeful doxologies in Paul’s writings, but here at the end
of Romans 11, Paul bursts forth with praise for the depths of
God’s mind and being, depths that we will never plumb. In
other words, Paul stands here in awe of God, not so much for
what he does know about him, but for what he does not know.
God is grand to him. God’s incredible mercy and immeasurable
wisdom is on display. But mostly he praises God with
an awareness that he can never fully comprehend him. Many pastors and scholars have
wondered at the extent of Paul’s praise here. Is it only in response
for his argument in chapters 9 through 11? I don’t think so.
In all likelihood, Paul’s song of praise here is in response
to all of the marvelous truth that he has reviewed since the
beginning of this epistle. sin, salvation, sanctification,
and now sovereignty. Paul sees it all. And all of
it, especially these last few chapters, extolling God’s sovereignty. It puts everything in perspective.
Man is appropriately seen to be very finite and small. Well, God is presented as all-important,
all-powerful, almighty God. And yet even in that greatness,
God bestows his infinite mercy upon both individuals and entire
nations. Questions abound as to the outworking
of this divine mercy. And Paul does not obligate himself
to answer them because God doesn’t obligate himself to answer them.
But we do know of God’s plans and purposes, and we do know
that they are enough to lead us to humble praise. So what we have in the verses
before us are Paul’s efforts to sound the depths of God’s
mind. Sailors in the olden days would
take a sounding. They would pound on the boat.
the bottom of the boat and wait for the echo to come back to
know the depth in which they were sailing. That’s what Paul’s
doing here. He’s just trying to find the
depth of God’s mind. The first thing that he notes
there in verse 33, is the awe of God’s mind expressed. That’s what he starts with. Oh,
the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of
God, how unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his
ways. As I’ve already indicated, Paul
erupts suddenly with his declaration of praise for God, the depth
of God’s riches, wisdom, knowledge, and this word, oh, It’s a single
letter in the Greek and in many translation. It marks a sudden
exclamation. Paul is captured using this little
word only a few times in the book of Acts and in his letters.
Jesus employs it plentifully to indicate an abrupt change
of direction. Matthew 15, 28, oh woman, your
faith is great. Mark. 919, oh, unbelieving generation. Luke 24, 25, oh, foolish men
and slow of heart to believe. Paul uses the word similarly
in conversation. Romans 2, 3, do you suppose this,
O man? Romans 9, 20, on the contrary,
who are you, O man, who answers back to God? And so here, Paul
is abruptly crying out praise to God and he continues, oh,
the depth of the riches. Paul uses this manner of referencing
God’s unending supply on several occasions. For example, in Romans
8.39, he says that neither height nor depth nor any other created
thing will be able to separate us from the love of God. What
a profound thought. God’s mind is deep, and based
on the grammatical form of these words that follow, riches, wisdom,
and knowledge, it indicates that they’re all modified by this
word depth. The depth of riches, the depth
of wisdom, the depth of knowledge, there is an inexhaustible supply
of all of those resources. When he speaks of the depth of
riches here, he refers to the incalculable, immeasurable, inexhaustible
supply of God’s reserves. There is an infinite supply of
divine resources, particularly of His grace and His mercy. The
riches of God’s wisdom here refers to the divine insight God possesses
for the execution of His plans. God is able to determine the
best course for any given situation. He is able to order all of life
according to his purposes. We know this from Romans 8 28.
God causes all things to work together for good to those who
love God called according to his purpose. The inexhaustible
riches of God’s knowledge is his basis for his wise determinations. God sees all the possibilities. He has all the information. Anything
that ever is possible to know, God knows. And God simply knows. He didn’t have to learn. He doesn’t
have to be educated. He knows all things, future and
past, large and small. Nothing can be hidden from him,
whether good or evil. the writer of Proverbs admitted,
the eyes of the Lord are in every place watching the evil and the
good. God sees. The psalmist humbly
acknowledged God’s knowledge this way, Psalm 139. You know
when I sit down and when I rise up. You understand my thought
from afar. You scrutinize my path and my
lying down and are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, oh Lord, you
know it all. We can think of God’s knowledge
as a sea of information and understanding. It is the exercise of his omnipotence,
pardon me, his omniscience. And this knowledge guides the
exercise of his wisdom in that which will bring him the most
glory. In the latter half of this verse, Paul mentions two
other aspects of God’s mental activity, his judgments and his
ways. His judgments and his ways speak
of his decision-making, sovereignty in action, God being God. And like his wisdom and knowledge,
which are inexhaustible, so also are these elements, his judgment,
Paul speaks of as unsearchable, his ways unfathomable. With regards
to God’s unsearchable judgments, he points to the impossibility
of fully figuring out what God is doing. Well, that fits this
passage, this subject, the great theme of Romans thus far, the
first 11 chapters. We read these things and we’re
baffled, we have questions, and God does not obligate himself
to answer every question. We can’t figure out what God
is doing as well as his reasons why he does certain things. The
Bible often presents God as incomprehensible. Job 11, can you discover the
depths of God? Can you figure him out completely? And what unfolds in life is cloaked
in God’s secret counsels, his divine decrees. This is why Paul
refers to them as unsearchable. God doesn’t seek our opinion.
God doesn’t seek our counsel, nor does he inform us of the
reason on every one of his choices. They cannot be dissected and
determined and studied by human investigation. Likewise, Paul
says God’s ways are unfathomable. God’s courses, the direction
that he takes, his methods, his processes are all hidden in the
secret councils of the Godhead. The wisest human mind finds them
to be unfathomable. They cannot be lined out. God
may not be tracked or figured out. No other than Job acknowledged
that God does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number. He does great things, unfathomable
and wondrous works without number. Job later says, there is no higher
viewpoint than God’s to observe and scrutinize his doings. He
knows what he’s doing. And he doesn’t have to explain
it to us. As one humble pastor said it, we can only wonder and
adore. We can never understand, not
fully. And so Paul begins here with
an expression of awe, but he moves quickly in verses 34 from
the awe of God’s mind expressed to the awe of God’s mind pondered. And you can almost sit back and
watch Paul think like people think, because he asks a series
of questions. Would you look at verses 34 and
35? For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who became his
counselor? Or who has first given to him
that it might be paid back to him again? Paul wishes to further
plumb the depths of pondering God’s mind, and for this he advances
these series of questions. All three of these questions
are somewhat rhetorical. We know the answer to them all.
No one No one has known the mind of the Lord. No one has counseled
the Lord. No one has put God in debt by
first giving to Him. And the implications of each
of these questions is worse. It gets worse and worse and worse,
more outlandish than the previous. The audacity behind each of these
questions grows. The first question in verse 34,
who has known the mind of the Lord? It’s particularly rhetorical
in light of everything that God just said in verse 33. There he’s speaking of God’s
wisdom, knowledge, and judgment, and his ways. No one has figured
out God or God’s doings. Man’s knowledge is woefully finite. God’s is magnificently infinite. Until he reveals his mind to
us, his plans, his directions, his decrees, they are infinitely
beyond us. We cannot begin to comprehend
God and his ways. And so Paul asks, who has known
the mind of the Lord? Paul is just adding proof here
to what he stated in verse 33. Paul here in verse 34 may be
either loosely quoting or at least alluding to Isaiah chapter
40. Would you turn there just for a moment? Isaiah chapter
40. It’s such an incredible chapter.
You know it. We’ve gone through it before. In this amazing chapter where
Isaiah is introducing the Messiah In the third stanza, verses 12
through 17, Isaiah cites God as defending his wisdom. Isaiah
40, scroll down to verse 12. Who has measured the waters in
the hollow of his hand? Anyone? And marked off the heavens
by the span? Who took measurements of heaven
and calculated the dust of the earth by measure? and weighed
the mountains and a balance and the hills and a pair of scales?
Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord or as his counselor
has informed him? With whom did he consult and
who gave him understanding? And who taught him in the path
of justice and taught him knowledge and informed him of the way of
understanding? The answer to all of that is nobody. Nobody
has ever taught and informed and counseled God. Back, if you
would, to Romans 11. As I said before, each of the
questions that Paul poses here in verses 34 and 35, the implications
behind each one of them is worse than the previous. Each one gets
more outlandish. And here in Paul’s second question,
who became his counselor? Paul moves beyond a mere ability
to know God’s mind to the ability to know something that God does
not. So as to educate him, counsel
him, to come alongside of God, to help him in his decision-making
in superintending the universe. It’s absurd. When we seek counsel,
we seek somebody with insight that we lack, some experience,
some training. This is the outrageous thought
behind this question. Has anyone ever possessed a measure
of knowledge that God himself did not possess? It’s just a
ludicrous suggestion. Now, some people might recoil
back from the thought of counseling God. But they think nothing of
questioning him or criticizing his decisions. Can we think of
anything more audacious than that? Paul can, because he has
a third question. And this third question is even
more disturbing than the previous two. Who has first given to him
that it might be paid back to him again? Here? It isn’t enough just to
think that you’ve figured out God, to know his mind, or worse
yet, to be so brash as to give him advice. The idea behind Paul’s
third question here in verse 35 involves putting God in debt. This is such a troubling thought. It’s nothing short of blasphemous.
And yet, that’s exactly what the system of the Pharisees had
become. A system of work, salvation by
law keeping, which obligated God to save them. You remember
the lawyer that approached Jesus in Luke chapter 10. What shall
I do to inherit eternal life? That was the mindset. of the
Pharisees. And the Roman Catholic system
was no different. During those thousand years of
spiritual darkness, during which the Bible was effectively withheld
from her people, the simple message of the gospel, salvation by faith
in Christ, had become horribly disfigured. Christianity had
become a system of merit and reward A never-ending pursuit
of so-called grace that never provided sinners a biblical assurance
of salvation. It was a system that sought to
obligate God. Paul contrasts these two concepts
earlier in Romans 11. Flip back just one chapter to
verse six, where he concludes If it, that is, if salvation
is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Impossible.
Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. The two systems are diametrically
opposed to one another. It’s either salvation by works
or salvation by grace. As Paul sharply rebuked the Galatians
on this point, if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ
died needlessly. Back to the end of Romans 11,
if you would. You know, God caught Job in this
same troubling dilemma. In 42, 11 of Job, he posed a
very similar question. Who has given to me? that I should
repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven
is mine, just as our psalm said this morning. What does God need? Nothing. And so we can never
manipulate him into a position of obligation The truth is, we
have nothing, we give nothing, we contribute nothing, we can
do nothing to merit our salvation by obligating God to save us. David knew this principle well.
When he prayed, 1 Chronicles 29, 14, who am I and who are
my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from you,
from your hand, we have given to you. God’s grace and mercy
can never be earned. God owes us nothing and can never
be placed in a position of obligation to us. God always takes the initiative
in the salvation of souls. As Paul challenged the Corinthians,
what do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive
it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? We are not,
never will be, never could be justified before God based on
our merit, our works. We are only justified before
him based on Christ and his merits. So Paul, in plumbing the depths
of God’s mind, not only expresses the awe of God’s mind in verse
33, He ponders the awe of God’s mind in verses 34 and 35. And
in verse 36, we see the awe of God’s mind detailed. Watch this. For from him and through him
and to him are all things. Paul builds on the argument set
forth thus far by reminding us that God is the magnanimous giver
of all things. James tells us every good thing
and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father
of lights. Paul begins here in verse 35
with that familiar little word, for. He’s providing the support,
the reasoning for the profound statements that he makes in 33
to 35. Of course, no man can put God in a position of obligation. Because God himself is the one
from whom all things come. He is the divine source of everything. He is the gracious means of everything. He is the deserving recipient
of all that he gives. Paul tells us first that all
things are from him. He’s the creator, he’s the giver
of everything. In Him, all things have their
origin, not only from Him, but all things are through Him. God
is the sustainer of all things. God alone is the sovereign guide
and ruler, the overseer of all. And through His agency, all things
are directed where and how He would have them to serve. He
alone is the sustainer of all things. And Paul says all things
are to Him. Ultimately, everything redounds
to God. God is the end of all things. Everything returns to Him who
gave it, perfectly fulfilling His design. It’s all for His
glory. He’s the recipient of the return
on investment. He’s the reason why all things
were created and bestowed in the first place. Pause and consider
for a moment, what has God given? God has given to us with exceedingly
great generosity. And this is a pitiful list, but
it’s a start. He gave us creation, the seas,
the land, the mountain, the sun, moon, stars, creatures, trees,
people. He gave us food. Psalm 65, you
visit the earth, you cause it to overflow, you greatly enrich
it. The stream of God is full of
water, you prepare their grain, for thus you prepare the earth.
You water its furrows abundantly, you settle its ridges, you soften
it with showers, you bless its growth. He gives us family and
friends and children. He gives us all things, and let’s
be honest, all things is, It’s pretty extensive. As the Apostle
Paul said it, he gives us life and breath and all things. We
don’t often pause to acknowledge that even the oxygen we breathe
and the natural process of taking it in is a gift. But God has
also given, made provision for what we need most, forgiveness.
Because as Paul said it earlier in this epistle, all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, all have sinned. Every person
in this room, every person ever born has sinned. And it’s not
whether we have sinned, but merely a question of how many sins we’ve
committed and how frequently. So God has not only given creation
and food and family and forgiveness, he’s given a savior. He gave
us the Lord Jesus Christ. As we reviewed a few weeks ago,
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal
life. Well, that leads us really to the fourth sounding in plumbing the depths of God’s
mind. We saw the awe of God’s mind expressed, the awe of God’s
mind pondered, the awe of God’s mind detailed. What’s left but
the awe of God’s mind extolled. Would you look at the end of
verse 36? To Him be the glory forever. Amen. How do we respond to all of that?
The awe of God’s mind expressed, pondered, detailed. God’s knowledge
and ways are not only beyond our comprehension, We are completely
inadequate to understand, let alone instruct him. All things
are his. All things are ultimately for
him. He doesn’t provide us here with
all the neatly packaged answers to all of life’s questions, what
we would call conundrums. But neither has Paul left us
without cause to humbly worship God. We’re not left holding a
bag of mysteries. He points us to the greatest
cause of worship of all, the salvation which he alone has
provided. How do we react to that? Look
at Paul’s response here at the end of verse 36. It’s praise. It’s a doxology. It’s a declaration of God’s greatness. That to which Paul is responding
here is what God has revealed in his son. That apart from the
law, God’s righteousness has not only been revealed, but it
can be received and possessed by faith in Jesus Christ. That
we can be justified through the redemption which is provided
in our Savior Christ Jesus. Paul declares that everything
is only for God’s glory. Soli Deo Gloria, to the glory
of God alone, and I love the way it ends. Amen. Period. We agree. End of story. You know, this isn’t Paul’s only
doxology in the book of Romans, he closes with a doxology at
the very end of the epistle. Would you look at Romans 16? I read a portion of this a moment
ago. Scroll down to verse 25. Now
to him, right? I mean, he’s the only recipient.
He’s the only proper recipient of glory. Now to him who is able
to establish you according to my gospel according and the preaching
of Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which has been
kept secret for long ages past but now is manifested and by
the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment
of the eternal God has been made known to all the nations leading
to the obedience of faith. What a glorious statement. To the only wise God, through
Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. Let’s pray.